The AID4SME project has officially concluded the selection process for its first Open Call, a strategic initiative designed to empower European SMEs and startups through the adoption of AI and data-driven solutions. This inaugural call followed a rigorous timeline, opening on June 30, 2025, and closing for submissions on September 11, 2025. Following an intensive evaluation period throughout September and February 2026, the results were announced in late March 2026.
By offering up to €150,000 in funding per project, Open Call 1 sought to bridge the gap between advanced technology and real-world industrial needs. The call focused on four key pillars of manufacturing evolution—Data Collection, Creation of Insights, Decision Support, and Automation—aiming to foster high-impact innovations that improve efficiency, sustainability, and competitiveness across the European industrial landscape.
A surge of interest: General participation
The market response to Open Call 1 was exceptionally strong, reflecting a high demand for AI-driven automation and insight generation in the manufacturing sector. The call attracted a total of 269 applications, showcasing a healthy mix of individual innovation and collaborative synergy.
Breakdown of total applications
- Total applications: 269
- Single entity applications: 215 (approx. 80%) — Demonstrating the agility of individual tech providers.
- Consortium applications: 54 (approx. 20%) — Highlighting the growing trend of SMEs partnering with industrial end-users or research centres to validate high-TRL (Technology Readiness Level) solutions.
Geographical distribution trends:
The call generated significant interest across the continent. The results in the graph below show a strong concentration of innovation in Southern Europe and the Mediterranean. Italy led the way as the country with the highest number of applications, closely followed by Spain, Turkey, and Greece. This distribution underscores a vibrant commitment to Industry 4.0 within these key manufacturing hubs.
Technical breakdown: Proposals by challenge
Following a rigorous Eligibility Check, which ensured that all applicants met the administrative and technical criteria set out in the Guide for Applicants, 169 proposals moved forward to the evaluation phase.
The distribution of these 169 proposals across the 10 specific challenges revealed significant trends in where European SMEs believe AI can provide the most immediate value:
Challenge | Number of Proposals |
1.1 Augmented sensing solutions | 20 |
1.2 2D/3D image analysis for large Energy Infrastructure predictive maintenance | 34 |
2.1 Product-production Digital Twins | 35 |
2.2 Digital Twin based lifespan analysis tool | 14 |
2.3 Energy system Digital Twin decision support tool | 35 |
3.1 Digital Twin enabled smart production process planning tool | 60 |
4.1 Automated energy management for parts production | 22 |
4.2 Automated energy management for battery production | 8 |
4.3 Semi-automated EV battery disassembly for recycling | 5 |
4.4 Co-bot refrigerator door assembly solutions | 7 |
Challenge 3.1 (Digital Twin-Enabled Smart Production Planning) was the single most popular category, attracting 60 proposals. This represents 35.5% of all eligible applications, signalling that the industry views AI-driven process planning as the most critical “Decision Support” tool for modern factories.
The evaluation framework: Quality and transparency
To manage this high volume of submissions, the AID4SME consortium implemented a multi-stage evaluation procedure:
- External expert selection: A dedicated call for experts was published to ensure a neutral, remote evaluation process. Experts were selected based on professional experience in the four domains, prior evaluation history, and the need to achieve a balanced gender distribution.
- Scoring criteria: Proposals were assessed on Novelty/Innovation, Impact (Green Deal, Social, and Resource Optimization), Project Planning, and Expertise.
- Final selection: Out of the 169 eligible proposals, 11 proposals were selected for funding, representing a highly competitive selection rate of roughly 6.5%.
Final selection and next steps
The 11 selected projects, comprising 13 distinct entities, are now embarking on a 14-month deployment phase running from March 2026 to April 2027. See the full list below:
Project | Entity name | Country | Type of organisation |
ETWIN-CYCLE | iThermAI B.V. | Belgium | SME |
ELVEZ, proizvodnja kabelske konfekcije in predelava plastičnih mas, d.o.o. | Slovenia | Industry | |
TwinLearnXR | ARVRtech doo Novi Sad | Serbia | SME |
ARGUS | iLINK NEES TEXNOLOGIES OE | Greece | SME |
LOCAL AI P.C. | Greece | SME | |
CoBolt | PAL Robotics S.L.U. | Spain | SME |
LUMINA | FORCERA, LDA | Portugal | SME |
AEOS-DemSim | Superlinear BV | Belgium | SME |
AlleyOPP | BeChained Artificial Intelligence Technologies SL | Spain | SME |
AIMS | PLEGMA LABS TECHNOLOGIKES LYSEIS ANONYMOS ETAIRIA | Greece | SME |
HFS4HRC | Stogl Robotics Consulting GmbH | Germany | SME |
DART | Raidyn BV | Belgium | Startup |
INTEL50001-RECHARGE | A Arti Muhendislik (A Plus Engineering) | Turkey | SME |
These initiatives are designed to deliver measurable results across three strategic pillars:
- Green Deal objectives: Implementing AI-driven solutions that significantly reduce industrial energy consumption, decrease carbon footprints, and support the transition toward a circular economy through advanced material recovery and waste reduction.
- Social benefits: Improving the quality of the industrial workplace by enhancing human-machine collaboration, fostering the development of advanced digital skills within the workforce, and promoting inclusive economic growth.
- Resource optimisation: Leveraging real-time data and predictive analytics to maximize operational uptime, streamline supply chain efficiency, and ensure the most sustainable use of raw materials across diverse manufacturing environments.
As these 11 projects progress through their development and validation cycles, the AID4SME Community of Practice will continue to provide mentoring and coaching to ensure these innovations achieve a successful market entry.